warning Oldsmobile Aurora 1998 s User Guide

When one of the warning lights comes on and stays on
when you are driving, or when one
of the gages shows
there may be a problem, check the section that tells you
what to do about it. Please follow this manual’s advice.
Waiting to do repairs can be costly
-- and even
dangerous.
So please get to know your warning lights
and gages. They’re a big help.
Your vehicle may also have a driver information system
that works along with the warning lights and gages. See
“Driver Information System” in the Index.
Safety Belt Reminder Light
When the key is turned to RUN or START, a chime will
come on for about eight seconds to remind people to
fasten their safety belts.
The safety belt light will
also come on and stay
on
for about 70 seconds. If the
driver’s belt is already
buckled, neither the chime
nor
the light will come on.
Air Bag Readiness Light
There is an air bag readiness light on the instrument
panel, which shows AIR
BAG. The system checks the
air bag’s electrical system for malfunctions. The light
tells
you if there is an electrical problem. The system
check includes the air bag sensors, the air bag modules,
the wiring and the crash sensing and diagnostic module.
For more information on the air bag system, see “Air
Bag”
in the Index.
AIR BAG
This light will come on
when you start your engine,
and it will flash for a few
seconds. Then the light
should
go out. This means
the system
is ready.
If the air bag readiness light stays on after you start the
engine or comes on when you are driving, your air bag
system may not work properly. Have your vehicle
serviced right away.
The air bag readiness light should flash for
a few
seconds when you turn the ignition key to RUN. If the
light doesn’t come on then, have it fixed
so it will be
ready to warn you if there is a problem.
2-65
- ..

Battery Warning Light
This light will come on
briefly when you start the
vehicle, as a check to show
VOLTS
you it is working, then it
should go out.
If it stays on, or comes on while you are driving, you
may have a problem with the electrical charging system.
A warning chime and the message CHECK CHARGE
SYSTEM may also come on. Have it checked right
away. Driving while this light
is on could drain
your battery.
If you must drive a short distance with the light on, be
certain to turn off all your accessories, such as the radio
and climate control.
Brake System Warning Light
Your vehicle’s hydraulic brake system is divided into
two parts. If one
part isn’t working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For good braking, though, you
need both parts working well.
This light should come on
when you turn the ignition
BRAKE (o>
key to-START. If it doesn’t
come on then, have it fixed
so it will be ready to warn
you if there’s a problem. FLUID
If this warning light stays on after you start the engine,
there could be a brake problem. Have your brake system
inspected right away.

If the light and chime come on while you are driving,
pull off the road and stop carefully. You may notice that
the pedal is harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer
to the floor. It may take longer to stop. If the light is still
on, have the vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing
Your Vehicle” in the Index.)
Your brake system may not be working properly
if the brake warning light
is on. Driving with the
i brake warning light on can lead to an accident.
If the light is still on after you’ve pulled off the
road and stopped carefully, have the vehicle
towed for service.
Parking Brake Indicator Light
When the ignition is on,
PARK
this light will come on when
you set your parking brake.
The light will stay
on if
your parking brake doesn’t
release fully.
If you try to drive off with the parking brake set,
a chime will also come on until you release the
parking brake.
This light should also come on when you turn the
ignition key to
START. If it doesn’t come on then, have
it fixed
so it will be ready to remind you if the parking
brake hasn’t released fully.

Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system, the light(s) will
come on when you start
on for several seconds.
LOCK ANT’ - (@)
your engine and may stay
I I That’s normal.
Traction Control System Warning Light
TRACTION
OFF
This warning light should
come on briefly as you start
the engine.
If the light stays on, turn the ignition to
OFF. Or, if the
light comes on when you’re driving, stop as soon as
possible and turn the ignition off. Then start the engine
again to reset the system. If the light still stays on, or
comes on again while you’re driving, your vehicle needs
service.
If the regular brake system warning light isn’t
on, you still have brakes, but you don’t have anti-lock
brakes. If the regular brake system warning light is also
on, you don’t have anti-lock brakes and there’s a
problem with your regular brakes. See “Brake System
Warning Light” earlier in this section.
The anti-lock brake system warning light should come
on briefly when you turn the ignition key to
RUN. If the
light doesn’t come on then, have
it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you if there
is a problem. If
the warning light doesn’t corne on then, have it fixed
so it
will be ready to warn you if there’s a problem. If it
stays
on, or comes on when you’re driving, there may be
a problem with your traction control system and your
vehicle may need service. When this warning light
is
on, the system will not limit wheel spin. Adjust your
driving accordingly.
2-68

The traction control system warning light may come on
for the following reasons:
a
a
e
If you turn the system off by pressing the
TRACTION CONTROL button located on the
center console, the warning light will come on
and stay
on. To turn the system back on, press the
button again. The warning light should go off.
(See “Traction Control System” in the Index for
more information.)
If there’s a brake system problem that is specifically
related to traction control, the traction control system
will turn
off and the warning light will come on. If
your brakes begin to overheat, the traction control system will turn
off and the warning light will come
on until your brakes cool down.
If the traction control system is affected by an
engine-related problem, the system will turn off and
the warning light will come on.
If the traction control system warning light comes on
and stays on for an extended period of time when the
system is turned on, your vehicle needs service.
Traction Control System Active Light
When your traction control
system is limiting wheel
TRACTION I spin, this light will come on.
ACTIVE
Slippery road conditions may exist if the traction
control system active light comes on,
so adjust your
driving accordingly.
The light will stay on for a few seconds after the
traction control system stops limiting wheel spin.
2-69
.-

Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the engine
coolant temperature.
If the gage pointer moves into the red warning zone,
your engine is hot.
To prevent engine overheating, the
air conditioning compressor will turn
off automatically,
a fast-pulsed chime will sound, and the message
ENGINE
HOT ... A/C OW will appear in the information
center.
As the engine cools down, the air conditioning
compressor will automatically turn back on. If
the coolant temperature is over
261 OF (127 “C),
the message HOT. ..STOP ENGINE will appear. It
means that your engine coolant has overheated. If
you have been operating your vehicle under normal
driving conditions, you should pull off the road, stop
your vehicle and turn
off the engine as soon as possible.
The section “Problems on the Road,”
in this manual
explains what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in
the Index.
If your coolant level
is low, the message LOW ENGINE
COOLANT will appear on the Driver Information
Center. Check your coolant level
as soon as possible.
See “Engine Coolant” in the Index.
2-70

Have you recently changed brands of fuel?
If
so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel (see
“Fuel” in the Index). Poor fuel quality will cause your
engine not to run as efficiently as designed. You may
notice this as stalling after start-up, stalling when you
put the vehicle into gear, misfiring, hesitation on
acceleration or stumbling on acceleration. (These
conditions may go away once the engine is warmed up.)
This will be detected by the system and cause the light
to turn
on.
If you experience one or more of these conditions,
change the fuel brand you use. It will require at least one
full tank of the proper fuel to turn the light off.
If none
of the above steps have made the light turn off,
have your retailer or qualified service center check the
vehicle. Your retailer has the proper test equipment and
diagnostic tools to
fix any mechanical or electrical
problems that may have developed.
Oil Pressure Warning Light
If you have a problem with
your oil, this light may
stay on after you start your
engine, or come on when
OIL you are driving.
A warning chime and the message
LOW OIL
PRESSURE may also come on.
These indicate that oil is not going through your engine
quickly enough to keep it cool. The engine could be low
on oil, or could have some other oil problem. Have it
fixed right away.
The oil light could also come on briefly when the
ignition is on but
the engine is not running. The light
will come on as a test to show
you it is working, but the
light will go out when you turn the ignition to START.
If
it doesn’t come on with the ignition on, you may have a
problem with the fuse or bulb. Have it fixed right away.

CAUTION:
Don’t keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches fire. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil
as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
I NOTICE:
Damage to your engine from neglected oil
problems can be costly and is not covered by
your warranty.
Fuel Gage
When the ignition is on,
your fuel gage tells you
about how much fuel you
have left.
When you have less than
3 .O gallons (1 1.3 L) of fuel
remaining, the message LOW FUEL will be displayed
and a chime will
sound. You need to get more fuel
right away.
Press the FUEL button on the Driver Information Center
to turn off the warning.

Here are four things that some owners ask about. None
of these show a problem with your fuel gage:
0
0
a
e
At the service station, the gas pump shuts off before
the gage reads
“F” (Full).
It takes a little more or less fuel to fill up than the
gage indicated. For example, the gage may have
indicated the tank was half full, but it actually took a
little more or less than half the tank’s capacity to fill
the tank.
The gage moves a little when you turn
a corner or
speed up.
The tank is not necessarily empty when the pointer is
over the
“E’ (Empty) mark. There is a reserve of
about
1.5 gallons (5.6 L) in the tank. You should still
get more fuel as soon as possible.
Driver Information Center
The Driver Information Center (DIC) displays
information in either English or metric. When the
system is on or off, push the
OFF button down for two
seconds to change the display between English and
metric. This will also change the digital screen for
the
climate control system between English and metric.
In addition to the functions described
in this part, the
DIC also displays various warning messages under appropriate conditions.

Turn on the system by pressing any button except
RESET, ENTER or OFF. When you turn on the ignition,
the
DIC will be in the mode last displayed when the
engine was turned off. Keep in mind that this also
applies to the
OFF mode.
To turn off messages on the DIC (except LOW OIL
PRESSURE, LOW BRAKE FLUID, PARK BRAKE
SET and the hot engine warnings), press any button
on the DIC.
\ II
You will need to open the cover to access the control
buttons.
To open the cover, push the button located to
the right
of the cover.
To close the cover, push it down to its closed position.
Fuel Economy
The ECON button displays average fuel economy and
instantaneous fuel economy calculated for your specific
driving conditions.
Press ECON to display average fuel economy, such as:
25.2 AVG MI/GAL or 9.3 AVG WlOO KM
Press ECON again to display instantaneous fuel
economy, such as:
28 INST MUGAL or 8.4 INST WlOO KM
Press again to return to average fuel economy.
The average fuel economy is viewed as a long-term
approximation
of your overall driving conditions.
If you press RESET in this mode while you’re driving,
the system will begin figuring fuel economy from that
point
in time.